Improvement in car-couplings



WILLIAM JOHNSTON. Improvement in Car-Couplings. N0. 114,566,Pat'entedMay9,1871.

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Letters Patent No. 114,566, dated May 9, 1871.

IMPROVEMENT IN CAR-COUPLINGS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thelama.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM JoHNsToN, of De-- catur, in the county ofVan Buren and State of Michigan, have invented'a new and improvedOar-Coupling; and Iv do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilledin the art to make and use the same, reference being bad to theaccompanying drawing forming part of this specification, in which Figure1 represents a longitudinal section of my improved car-coupling.

Figure 2 is a plan or top view of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

This invention relates to a new car-coupling, which is made so as to bevertically adjustable to permit the connection of cars of difierentheight.

The invention consists in pivoting the coupling-pins to vertical slides,which can be adjusted in the bnffers and lockedat suitable height bypivoted pawls.

A in the drawing represents the buffer or draw-head of a railroad car.

Its front end forms a rectangular opening, having straight parallelsides.

These sides are grooved verticallyto receive an upright slide, B, whichis forked at one end, as indicated in fig. 2, while near its'other endit has projecting ears (I. a at its front face.

To the ears a is pivoted, by a pin, b, the couplingpin 0, which has an.arrow-head, c, at its outer end. From the back face of the slide Bprojects a rib, (Z, having steps, which start from near that end, whencethe ears a project, so that it widens toward the forked I end of theslide.

The car which is to couple by means of its pin receives the slide sothat the forked end is on top, it

being held at suitable height by a pivoted piateyc, which looks underthe desired step, as shown on the right side pf fig. 1.

The slide in the oppositecar is applied in the reverse position, so thatits forked end is down and its coupling-pin will be suspended in'front,as shown.

The coupling-pin of the first slide projects horizontally forward, andwill, when pushed into the opposite box A, raise the slide and enterwith its head behind the same, so that it will be locked when theforked' slide drops over the pin in front of the head.

By making the slide vertically adjustable it can be adapted to cars ofdifi'erent heights, as is clearly indicated in fig. 1.

Suitable levers or cords may connect with the slides to raise or lower,without requiring attendants to directly handle them.

By folding up the coupling-pin of the locking-slide it can be madeineffective to leave two adjoining cars unconpled' Having thus describedmy invention,

'1 claim asnew and desire to secure by Letters Patent .1. The verticalforked slide B, provided with the pivoted headed pin 0 and with thestep'sd, to operate substantially as herein shown and described,

2. The draw-head A, provided with vertical grooves at the sides toreceive the vertical slides B, substantially as herein shown anddescribed.

WILLIAM JOHNSTON.

Witnesses:

HARRY O. CHURCH, Mnnvm Womnme'ron.

